Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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209. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in his Department; the AI technologies the Department uses, the purpose and function of said technology in the context of the work of the Department, and the associated costs of the licensing or use of AI by the Department in the past 12 months, in tabular form. [38616/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department recently reviewed its Generative AI Policy and an updated version has been issued to all staff.  The policy highlights some of the potential areas where Generative AI can deliver efficiencies but also sets out the risks of using such technologies and the mitigations that staff in the Department must adopt to avoid those risks.  This was based on guidance received from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The Generative AI Policy has designated Microsoft Copilot Chat as the primary Generative AI platform to be used in the Department. 

The general principle of the Department's Generative AI Policy is that the technology can be useful and improve efficiency of the work and functions carried out by the Department.  General use cases include research, formatting and layouts for documents as well as analysis of data. However, staff are required to make it clear when generative AI has been used, and to apply their own value judgments and sign off on the content of all documents. Staff remain 100% responsible for all outputs and they are responsible for ensuring that it is fit for use and factually correct.  Approval processes are in place to ensure that content generated is reviewed by multiple officials before it is published.

The use of Copilot Chat is included in the Department's existing Microsoft365 subscriptions and, therefore, there are no additional associated costs.